FAQ: Working with Files in Microsoft Teams

1. FAQ for File Collaboration in Microsoft Teams
CO-AUTHORING Does Teams file storage supportco-authoring?
Yes, multiple userscaneditafile simultaneouslyinOffice applicationslike Word,Excel
and PowerPoint. Thiscaninclude real-timeco-authoring,where eachusercansee
everyone’scursorsmovingandtextappearingastheytype.
DIFFERENT APPS Does co-authoringworkif my team edits the document indifferent types of
applications?
Yes,co-authoringcanwork whetherthe simultaneoususersare inthe browser,inthe
desktopapp, inTeams, on a mobile phone,oranycombination.
DESKTOP APPS Do I need to use the Teams desktop app to work with filesinTeams?
While it’sconvenienttoview andeditfilesin the Teamsapp alongside your
conversations(seeDOCUMENTCONVERSATIONS), you’renotrequiredtouse Teamsto
workwithfilesthatare storedin Teams – you can use desktopapps,the browser,or
mobile devicesaswell.
UPLOADING Are there different waysto uploadmy filesto Teams?
There are several waystouploadfilestoyourTeamsfile storage:
- The Upload button inthe browseron eitherthe Filestaborthe related
SharePointlibrary
- As a newTeamschat post thatincludesan attachedfile
- UsingWindowsExploreronyourPC (see OFFLINEACCESS)
- DirectlyfromOffice applicationslike Word orExcel,whichare aware of all your
Teams/Groups
- From yourmobile device
FILE SIZE What’sthe largest filesize I can uploadto Teams?
15 GBs is currentlythe largest size of a single file thatcan be uploaded viaweb/browser.
(Wordor PDFdocumentsare typicallymuchsmallerthanthis).Forfileslargerthan15
GB, you coulduse file syncviaWindowsExplorer(see OFFLINEACCESS).
OFFLINE ACCESS CanI work on Teams filesoffline?
Yes,usingthe “Sync” buttonyoucan create an offline copyof yourTeamsfileswhichare
syncedto the cloud. The fileswill be visible inWindowsExplorerandbehave likelocal
filesonyourPC.
ONENOTE
NOTEBOOKS
CanI use OneNotenotebooks inTeams?
Yes,OneNote notebooks canbe storedandviewedinMicrosoftTeams (the Government
versionof Teamswill soonalsosupportthe OneNote Tabaswell)
VERSION
HISTORY
CanI see who made changesto my filesin Teams?
Yes,Teamsautomaticallykeepsversion historyof the changestothe documentsit
stores.Youcan use SharePointtoaccessversionhistory tosee whomade changes,when
theymade them(time/date),andevenrestoreordelete specificversions.

2. FILE CHANGE
ALERTS
CanI get an alert when someonemodifiesmy filesin Teams?
Yes,you can create a SharePointAlertthatcan email youwheneversomeonemodifies a
documentyoucreated.Youcan alsobe alertedonother file activity inyourTeamas
well,evenif youdidn’tcreate the documentyourself.
DOCUMENT
CONVERSATIONS
Canmy team’s chat conversationabouta file inTeams be linkedto that file?
Yes,the conversation threadsthatyougenerate re:yourdocuments canbe foundwith
the Conversationbutton whenviewingdocumentsinTeams.
SEARCH Does Teams allowme to search for wordsINSIDE my documents?Even PDFs?
Yes,all documentsstoredinMicrosof Teamsare searchable withthe searchbox atthe
top of the Teams app,and because the documentsare fullyindexed,youcanfindyour
searchterms notonlyinthe title of the file,butalsoif yoursearchtermsappear
anywhere withinthe bodyof the document.ThiscapabilityincludesPDFdocuments and
some images aswell,inadditionto Office documents.
DESKTOP
SHARING
CanI showmy Teams documentsduring anonlineweb conference call meeting?
Yes,desktopsharingisavailable duringonline Teamsmeetingswiththe Teamsdesktop
app.If you’re joiningthe Teamsmeetingthroughyourbrowser,desktopsharingmaynot
be available basedonyourbrowsertype.
DOWNLOAD CanI downloaddocumentsfromTeams to my local device?
Yes,you can downloadfilestoyourlocal device.Be aware thatyouare at that point
workingona local copy that the rest of your teamdoesn’thave accessto,and youare
not takingadvantage of the co-authoringcapabilitiesthatare providedwhenfilesare
storedinTeams.
SWITCHING
TENANTS
I alsouse MicrosoftTeams with another organization –can I access my files forthis
team as well as my other teams throughthe same Teams app?
Yes,if thisscenarioappliestoyou, yourTeamsapplication will includeadropdownmenu
nearyour profile picture forswitching betweenyourdifferentTeamstenants.
COMPATIBILITY I get errors when I try to view or edit one of my documentsthat I’ve broughtin to
Teams from a differentlocation.Is there a compatibilityissue?
There couldcertainlybe manywaysto troubleshooterrors,but we’veseenthatsome
usersexperience issue whentryingtouse olderOffice documentsusingthe olderformat
(DOC,XLS, PPT) insteadof the newerformat(DOCX, XLSX,PPTX). Youcanuse your Office
applicationstoSave Asinthe newerformat – oftenthisfixes issueswhentryingtowork
withthe documentinTeams.
FILE VISIBILITY